The quality of paper is determined by its smoothness and sheen. Smoothness is a measure of the evenness of paper surfaces. Sheen is a measure of the homogeneous optical reflectivity of paper, and denotes a range of characteristics from "high gloss" to "matte."
Enhancement of gloss characteristics is desirable for diverse paperboard and paper applications and for this purpose it is conventional to coat paper with various formulations including clay compositions and polyethylene. Clay formulations have particular application in papers used in publishing; polyethylene is conventionally employed in finishing paperboard used for liquid packaging of food products.
In the prior art, calender and supercalender apparatus have found wide application in the finishing of coated paper stock. In conventional gloss calenders coated paper is acted upon by polished cylinder surfaces under pressure and heat to impart gloss to the coated surface. This technique is not entirely satisfactory in that it densifies the paper in areas of nonuniformity in paperboard thickness diminishing the ink absorbency of the board for printing applications.
To overcome this deficiency in gloss calendering, the art has employed supercalender apparatus which include stacks of hard and resilient cylinders which cooperate to smooth and impart a uniform thickness through application of pressure. See U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,034. However, this technique further densifies the coating with a consequent reduction in paper printability. Moreover, such supercalenders require extensive tooling and capital investment which increase paper production costs.
In another conventional approach, "cast coating" processes are employed in which highly polished casting cylinder surfaces coact with an arrangement of coating rollers to impart a uniform finish to paper. Such a conventional process is disclosed in "Coating Equipment and Processes", Chapter 17, by G. L. Booth, Lockwood Publishing Co., New York (1970) which Identifies U.S. Pat. No. 1,719,166 to Bradner as an early patent in this field. Bradner discloses a process in which the coating surface, while in a plastic (i.e., molten) state, is contacted by a non-adhering high gloss surface and then cured. Use of a nonadhering surface permits release of the paper following the curing operation. This technique has application for use in the polymer coating of plastics which are molten and solidify when cooled, as well as clay coatings which change from a plastic to a solid state by application of thermal heat.
Highly polished metal surfaces employed in conventional cast coating processes impart a high-gloss surface to the paper without the densification associated with supercalendering techniques. Thus the coating has greater bulk and ink absorbency than is obtained by supercalendering.
In the case of clay coatings, the clay formulation is applied to one side of a paper substrate and that side is then pressed against a heated, highly polished surface of a cylinder until the coating dries. When the paper is released from the drying cylinder, the coating has a surface which mirrors the polished surface of the drying drum.
Conventional cast-coating paper formulations are similar in content to those employed in high-grade coated paper applications. However, the adhesive ratio in a cast coating is higher than for supercalendered coated paper. This increase in adhesiveness counters retention forces on the cast surface associated with separation of the paper from the casting surface and enhances the ink holding capability of the coating. Although excessive adhesive in non-cast-coated paper impairs the gloss and smoothness of the paper after calendering, high levels of adhesive in cast-coated paper has the opposite effect, that is, gloss enhancement.
Another conventional type of cast coating is referred to as cast calendering. This technique entails the production of a high gloss on supercalendered coated paper by rewetting the surface of the densified coating and then contacting the wetted surface with a highly polished, metal heated roll under pressure.
In the case of polymer coatings, cast coating entails the steps of applying polymer coating to a casting surface such as a stainless steel belt or coated casting paper and then transfer laminating the polymer coating to the substrate. FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art apparatus for application of a polymer coating to a substrate using a specially coated casting or release paper.
Although cast coating imparts satisfactory gloss to paper, the high expense associated with the process limits its application to high cost paper or paperboards. It will be appreciated that the process is relatively slow and requires exacting tolerances in the coaction of the applicator rolls and casting surface. Such requirements increase production costs.
Various prior art U.S. patents teach the use of a band or belt to impart surface characteristics to a coated substrate. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,153,494 to Oliva discloses a process for obtaining a shiny metallized surface on a plated or laminated material by coating the surface with varnish and applying a plastic film which has been covered with a metallizing agent. "The film acts as both a carrier and a glossing element . . . ." See Oliva patent Abstract. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,664,734 to Okita et al. discloses a process for producing a magnetic recording medium, wherein a magnetic coating composition is coated on a roller or band having a mirrored surface to form a smooth magnetic surface layer on a non-magnetic substrate. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,059,471 to Haigh discloses a method of transfer dying utilizing a polyethylene-coated heat transfer paper to transfer the dye.
There is a need in the art for apparatus and processes for gloss enhancement of coated papers which are less complex in tooling requirements than known in the art. Technology is required which has diverse application for gloss enhancement of high grade printing paperstock as well as paperboard for packaging applications. Such enhancement should preferably be obtained without undue compaction of paperstock with associated diminishment in printability.
Accordingly, it is a broad object of the present invention to provide an improved gloss enhancing process and related apparatus for production of coated paper and paperboard.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide a gloss enhancement process having application for coating paper and paperboard with clay composition or polyethylene coatings.
Another object of the invention is to provide a gloss enhancing process for fabricating novel coated paper and paperboard products having improved printing characteristics.
A further object of the invention is to provide a gloss enhancing production line apparatus and processes which are less complex, obtain faster production speeds, and are improved over the prior art.